A patch from a historic meeting in space, 1975

Slayton Space Souvenir

On July 15, 1975, an Apollo spacecraft lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center, bound for its historic rendezvous with the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, a collaboration between the United States and the Soviet Union, marked the first time that astronauts from different nations had met in space. Manning the Apollo was a three-man crew consisting of Thomas P. Stafford, Vance D. Brand, and Wisconsin-born astronaut Donald K. "Deke" Slayton. This patch travelled with Slayton aboard the Apollo and visually depicts the docking of the two spacecrafts.